Prades (; ) is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...

department in the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...

. In 2018, the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

had a population of 6,063. Prades is the capital of the historical

Conflent Conflent () is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent. The capital of this ''pays'' is Prades ( ca, Prada de ...

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Pradéens'' and ''Pradéennes'' in French and ''Pradencs'' and ''Pradenques'' in Catalan. It is also the hometown of

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served f ...

, who served as

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

from 2020 to 2022.

Geography

Prades is located in the

canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes The canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes is an administrative division of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, in southern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Prades. It c ...

and in the

arrondissement of Prades The arrondissement of Prades is an arrondissement of France in the Pyrénées-Orientales department (Northern Catalonia) in the Occitanie region. It has 123 communes. Its population is 59,828 (2016), and its area is . Composition The communes of ...

, in the

Pyrenees Mountains The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

next to the

Canigó The Canigó ( ca, Canigó, french: Canigou ; la, mons Canigosus or Canigonis) is a mountain located in the Pyrenees of southern France. The Canigó is located less than from the sea and has an elevation of . Due to its sharp flanks and its dra ...

and Têt River. Its nearby towns include

Codalet Codalet () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It is very small with only a few streets but has much character. There are no shops but there is a little park with a boules court and soccer goal as well as a ...

, Eus,

Vinça Vinça (; ca, Vinçà) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Vinça is located in the canton of Le Canigou and in the arrondissement of Prades. Population Transport The N116 road passes cl ...

and

Villefranche-de-Conflent Villefranche-de-Conflent (; ca, Vilafranca de Conflent) is historically a town in the Conflent region of Catalonia, and now a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Villefranche-de-Conflent is located in ...

Politics and administration

Mayors

Twin towns

Prades is twinned with: *

Ripoll Ripoll () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border. The population was 11, ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Lousã Lousã () is a town and concelho, municipality in the district of Coimbra (district), Coimbra, in the central part of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,604, in an area of 138.40 km2. History The oldest evidence provides an indication ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Kitzingen Kitzingen () is a town in the Germany, German state of Bavaria, capital of the Kitzingen (district), district Kitzingen. It is part of the Franconia geographical region and has around 21,000 inhabitants. Surrounded by vineyards, Kitzingen County i ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Population and society

Demography

Events

The Prades Festival, which specialises in

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, was begun in 1950, when eminent musicians were invited to play with Casals to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. This followed a decade during which Casals had declined to play in public because of events in Spain. From the first festival, recordings of performances at Prades were released on the Columbia record label. The festival moved to Perpignan in 1951, but returned to Prades the following year. It was renamed the

Pablo Casals Festival The Pablo Casals Festival is a music festival in the French Pyrenees created by the cellist and conductor Pablo Casals in 1950. History Casals opposed the Francoist regime in Spain which lasted until after his death. As an exile, Prades in th ...

in 1982. ;Universitat Catalana d'Estiu Every summer, since 1968, the Universitat Catalana d'Estiu (''Catalan Summer University'') is held at Prada de Conflent. It is an academic event which usually lasts ten days, open to everybody, where scholars, artists, and other personalities coming from all over the

Catalan Countries The Catalan Countries ( ca, països catalans, , ) refers to those territories where the Catalan language is spoken. They include the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencian Community, Valencia, and parts of Aragon (''La F ...

lecture and discuss about a variety of topics of general interest.

Notable people

Wilfred the Hairy {{Infobox noble, type , name = Wilfred , title = Count of Barcelona , image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53 , al ...

(died 13 August 897), 9th-century Count of Urgell, Cerdanya, Barcelona, Girona, Besalú and Ausona – born in Prades * Francés de Corteta, nobleman and poet *

Pierre Nicolas Camille Jacquelin du Val Pierre Nicolas Camille Jacquelin Du Val (9 July 1828, Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales, Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales – 5 July 1862, Clamart) was a French entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. After he went to Paris in order to begin medical ...

(1828–1862), entomologist – born in Prades *

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915 – December 10, 1968) was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. On May 26, 1949, he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and giv ...

(1915–1968),

trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

monk – born in Prades Prades was also the adopted home of

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

Pablo Casals Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals,

and grammarian

Pompeu Fabra Pompeu Fabra i Poch (; Gràcia, Barcelona, 20 February 1868 – Prada de Conflent, 25 December 1948) was a Spanish engineer and grammarian. He was the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language. Life Pompeu Fabra w ...

during their exile from the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. A small museum in Prades commemorates Casals.

References

Communes of Pyrénées-Orientales Subprefectures in France {{PyrénéesOrientales-geo-stub